November 15, 2024 • 18 mins
JJ Stankevitz and Casey Vallier break down the impact of Michael Pittman Jr.'s return for Week 11 and what the absence of Bernhard Raimann means for the Colts' offensive line on Sunday against the New York Jets. The guys also chat through what they heard from Colts players this week regarding Anthony Richardson's return behind center after a two-week absence.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
What's up? Everyone? Welcome into another episode of the Two
Minute Drill podcast, presented by Nerd Wallet Play Smart Finance
harder JJ Stankovitz, joined this week by Casey Valier.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Casey welcome, great to see you, JJ, Thanks for finally
letting me slip into this.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
You're tagging in from my colleague Amanda Foster, who is
talking to a player right now. So we're gonna We're
gonna let Amanda do her writing job and get a
nice story out next week while we talk about some
updates on the Colts ahead of the week eleven matchup
against the New York Jets. It's a big game play,
I mean assive, they're all big from here on out,
but now with Anthony Richardson coming back, it doesn't get
(00:36):
much bigger than this, with the Colts trying to claw
their way back into the AFC playoff picture. Let's start.
We usually go injury updates to start here. So Bernard
Ryman out for Sunday's game. He is a knee injury,
Shanestike and did tell us on Friday he thinks it's
probably week to week. It's not maybe serious enough that
you know he's going to miss an extended period of time,
but it does mean that Mackenzalvez will start at left tackle.
(00:59):
The Cults will once again have three rookies starting on
their offensive line. Case, what have you seen that to Mackinsalvez?
What have you heard about Mackenzalvez over the last couple
of weeks that gives you some confidence he can step
in there and do a good job against a really
good New York Jets front. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
I mean, ultimately, I think we've all been pleasantly surprised
at how quickly he has been able to acclimate to
left tackle because you know, if you look at the
offensive line, that's probably the hardest position to play in
the entire league, at left tackle outside of the quarterback
and maybe a couple other positions. But that's when you're
gonna definitely keep an eye on, and I think for
the most part, Gonzalvez has really stepped in and played
(01:33):
very very well. We did see you know that, you
know that you had the is it the game against
Houston there towards the end? Was it? I think it
was Houston or yeah we're burning went out, Yeah, we're
burning out. So there's been some up and downs, but
ultimately I mean one of the things that I took
a lot was listening to Quentin Nelson this week talk
about it and not only has he stepped in really
really well, think about what he's trying to juggle on
(01:54):
a week to week basis, taking snaps here and there
in practice, playing four positions. Yeah, it's been. It's one
of those things to kind of you know, this week
he got a majority of those snaps all at left tackle,
so he knew he was a part of the game plan.
He knew where he was going to be. So I
think all of that's going to play into it. But ultimately,
I think he has really held up really really well.
(02:16):
And you can kind of say the same for all
of the rookies that have stepped in. I mean, you know,
when it comes to Dalton, Tucker and Tanner BORDERLINI they've
all played very well, and typically you don't really get
that type of production out of rookies, right, that's one
of those offensive linemen at rookie. It's a trying year
as a rookie, and I feel like, you know, knock
on wood, this trio has played very very well in
(02:37):
the rookie year.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Yeah, I totally agree. Case I think the you know,
you've seen just like stable play out of Gonzalvez and Tucker,
Like you know, those guys have other moments like Gonzoalves
got beat by Greg Russo last week that led to
the strip sack, and you know, Greg Ruso is a
good player. But you're you're gonna get some some of
those moments. But it hasn't been like you haven't noticed
it like Mac Consolvez. I think has just been like
(02:59):
baseline solid. Same with Dalton Tucker. I think you're getting
like good play out at Tanner Bordolini, Yeah, et cetera.
Just straight up good play there. So that's also really encouraging.
But more than anything, I think it just speaks to
like Tony Spranno Junior and the culture that he has
and the standard he sets in that room. That this
is an offensive line that still is playing really good
football with three rookies starting. That is hard to do.
(03:19):
And it speaks to what Tony Spranno Junior's got there
with Chris Watt's doing in there, Quentin Nelson, Braden Smith,
Ryan Kelly though, all those guys setting the standard. There
one other thing to talk about, injury wise, Casey Michael
Pittman Junior's back. Yes, he was a full participant Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
This week, Shane Steichen told us he's good to go.
(03:39):
So one week with Pittman being out with that back
injury hopefully leads to him being more involved in this
offense going forward.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yeah, I mean, that's that's always the hope, especially when
you look at the numbers. They're just not pit like
if you will. But I mean, I've had back injuries
and I don't play at this level. But you know,
I'm not the same person with a back injury, so
it's understandable.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yeah, I was grinding through a b I can'dre I
want to play pickleball last week. It's totally different when
he got a guy hitting you exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
But I mean, Michael Pittman, he's one of those guys
where you know he's gonna go out, he's gonna be
as as Shane talked about, not only just at the position,
he's one of the you know, one of the toughest
players he's ever seen play in the NFL. So I'm
I'm not at all surprised that it's just a one
week absence because you could kind of see pitt last
week was probably not excited about missing, so I'm not
(04:25):
shocked that he's getting back out there. And maybe it
was one of those things where he took a week
to kind of say, all right, here's how I can
be best used inside the offense. And maybe he's gonna
have limitations with the back, but ultimately he can find
ways to you know, be more beneficial inside the offense.
So I think with pitt coming back, it's gonna be
(04:45):
one of those you know, with Reggie Wayne and with
you know, Jim Bob Kuter and Shane Stike and all
finding ways to get him involved because ultimately, when Michael
Pittman is involved, this offense is just better it is.
So it's one of those things with him coming back,
I think you're going to see kind of earlier they're
gonna get him involved in plays just to kind of
get him going. And I mean, I mean you may see,
(05:07):
you know, snap counts be a little bit lower, especially
after what you saw last week out of Adam I Mitchell,
So it may be kind of a good way to
kind of ease him back in and you can kind
of see what happens after this week how that back
holds up.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Yeah, I mean the Colts absolutely need Michael Pittman Junior
to be more productive. And I think it's pretty easy
to look at what he's done this year and say
he has not been one hundred percent because the Michael
Pittman Junior that he has proven to be over the
last three years is one of the more productive receivers
in the NFL. So getting him back to that level.
While you do have maybe more options to throw the
ball to this year, Josh Downs looks really good out,
(05:40):
Pierce's care really coming on. You've got obviously Adie Mitchell
coming off a career game against Buffalo, Like, You've got
guys who can throw the ball to. Whereas maybe in
years past Pitt's kind of been target one to one
and two. This year, I think, you know, it's a
little bit more spread out. But yeah, you absolutely need
to get Pittman more involved in the offense. Right. The
guy involving Michael Pittman Junior in that offense this week
(06:00):
case he will be Anthony Richardson. And before we kind
of put a bow on this week, I just want
to go take us into the locker room this week
because the conversations I had with guys in there I
thought were really interesting where they all said we never
lost faith in Anthony Richardson. We always believed he was
going to come back and he was going to earn
his job back. And that's what we saw, you know,
(06:21):
over the last two weeks is the stuff Anthony Richardson
did behind the scenes. You know, everything we heard is
that he was showing up early, and he was getting
his work in and he was really dedicated himself to
like kind of being consistent and to sacrificing a lot.
Those are the words he used quite a bit. But
around that locker room, I think there there's a renewed
(06:42):
appreciation for how difficult it is to be an NFL
starting quarterback at the age of twenty two. I kind
of heard that from a couple of players this week
that I thought was really interesting, where you know, leaders
on this team, Kenny Moore, the second to Forrest Buckner,
Zaire Franklin all kind of talking about like, you know,
we've kind of had to look inward for ourselves and
(07:04):
give him a little bit of grace and figure out
how to best support him through this. And I think
coming out on the other side of all that case,
he has been a lot of positivity and that this
team feels very confident now that Richardson's coming back that
he can be the guy to take them where they
want to go this season, which is making a push
for the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
It's always one of those things when you hear that,
you know, we never lose faith and all that, you
never really know how much you can take of that.
You know, their statements that you know from a franchise
you have to make. But I would agree completely with
you is I think everybody actually believes that when they
said it here, and you're seeing that in the locker room,
because when you talk about guys like the Forest Buckner, Zaire, Franklin,
(07:45):
Kinney Moore, not only have they seen all ends of
the spectrum, they know when a guy is out there
faking it, if you will. And I don't think any
of them thought that it was. Hey, you know what,
this position that he is being put in is incredibly difficult.
It's the hardest position in all of sports to play
at the quarterback position. So let's find a way to
(08:07):
get everybody working on the same page and help him along.
And I think that's all to me, Like you look
at the comments that Kenny Moore made post game last week.
I don't think it was geared towards any one player.
I think it was literally, hey, everybody, let's look at
Let's take a look in the mirror, because we all
have to do this. And it was one of those
things where it's kind of that, you know, light bulb
(08:28):
blinking if you will, that everybody has to kind of
take that step and say, not only is it you
know Anthony needs to do this to continue to improve
at the quarterback spot, but we all have to do
our best to help him get there because you know,
I've been twenty two and I know that if you
gave me the keys to this, there would be no
idea where I would go. So hearing, and I mean,
(08:49):
I thought Jonathan Taylor mentioned it really well this week
when he said there's a lot of things that I
do and we do as running backs that nobody knows
he goes, but when it comes to quarterback, I can't
even begin to a mat and all that goes into it.
So there is just so much that goes into being
a quarterback. And that is not just what you see
in the class or you know in the classroom at
practice and in the games. There's so much more. And
(09:11):
I thought you you talk about, you know, the sacrifice
that Anthony was talking about. I think all of that
is really starting to resonate with him, and it can
only be a good thing. It's ultimately, you're a little
you're a little nervous or worried when you do something
like this because you don't know how it's going to
affect somebody. But I think for Anthony he has really
taken in in stride, and so is this whole leadership
(09:33):
that we have here with the culture, they've really helped
him along.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, I totally agree with that. That like seeing just
like seeing Anthony high fiving guys coming off the field
in Minnesota. It's like, Okay, he didn't go in the tank.
That's something Josh Downs told me this week, Like, you know,
Anthony could have gone in the tank and he could
have said I'm not messing around with these guys anymore.
But he he took it in stride. It was, you know,
a difficult time for him, certainly, but he I think
(09:57):
he used it, as Michael Pittman Junior said this, he
uses his way call right, And I think you know
what that looks like on Sunday doesn't necessarily mean we
should expect Anthony Richardson to come out and go twenty
seven to thirty five for three hundred and fifty yards.
But I do think it means like this is the
arrow is pointing back up. Yeah, and the ship is
going in the right direction. Whatever metaphor you want to use,
(10:19):
we are we're back on track here, And I think
that is that is something. Now over these last seven games,
you want to see that development trend up.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Now.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
You want to see that commitment to all those little things.
You want to see the sacrifices. You want to see
that starting to lead to the arrow pointing up for
Anthony Richardson, because if it does, this team could make
a run for the playoffs. Absolutely they can, but it's
got to be driven by Anthony Richardson playing better football
than he played before he got benched.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah, I mean, you talk about this team, I mean,
there's a reason they brought all these guys back. There's
a reason that this team won nine games last year
with Anthony on the sideline for a majority, I mean,
for essentially the entire season. So the talent is there.
This team is to win. Now you just have to
be able to put all the pieces together and ultimately,
you know, no, you don't want to look too far ahead,
but you really got to know what you have in
(11:08):
Anthony for this team. So I think it is very,
very important over this last stretch to really get a
lot of and I'm anxious to see how the offense
looks different, you know, because this was also for the
coaching staff a moment to kind of take a step
back and say, not only do we have to help
him on the field, we've got to do a better
job of putting him in the best positions to succeed.
(11:29):
So I'm anxious to kind of see what Shane Steiken
dials up offensively, him and Jim Bob Cooter and everybody
that's involved this Sunday offensively against the Jets.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
And by the way, the difference in having Anthony Richardson
back there versus Joe Flacco for the Colts run game
is significant. And here's something I pulled up for a
game preview on Colts dot Com. Casey. The Jets enter
week eleven twenty fourth in the NFL and explosive run
rate allowed, so opponents are gaining ten of Moore yards
on fourteen point three percent of their rushing attempts. That's
pretty high, yeah, around the NFL. In the six games
(11:59):
Anthony Richardson has started, the Colts have an explosive run
rate of twenty point eight percent. That would be the
best in the NFL over the course of a full season.
In the games Joe Flacco started, they're at eleven point
six percent. That would be good for twenty second Okay,
So that is you're talking about nearly doubling your rate
of getting ten yards when you hand the ball off
or have the quarterback take it with Anthony Richardson back
(12:22):
there versus Joe Flacco. And that's significant against the defense.
By the way, Casey, that is allowing those that are
rather rather high rate.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
And that's part of when I look at this this
opponent this week, you want to know, Okay, where is
their weakness because you can rattle off all the names
on this Jets team. Yeah, they're three and seven, but
they've got names to jump off the page. I mean
offensively and defensively, but the area that you can really
attack them is against the run. When I talk to
Connor Hughes, who covers a team for s and why
(12:50):
that's one of the things he said. He goes, this
team has a whole bunch of guys to get pin
their ears back and go get the quarterback, but you
try to get him to stop the run, and they
just don't know how to do it. You've got Quinn
Williams and that's about it. So you look at this
team and it's really it sets up for you know,
that run dynamic that you've seen with Taylor and Richardson
in the backfield. It sets up for a very positive
(13:12):
outlook for the Colts offense for sure.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
And the New York Jets highest graded run defender this
year is linebacker CJ. Moseley, who will not play Sunday.
There you go, Altoetrie, that's one of those I just
looked that up in the last thirty seconds and if
you saw my eyebrows goo, that's a fact right there. Ok.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Pro Football Focus has him as their highest graded run defender.
The Jets will also be without left tackle Tyron Smith. Yes,
Deavante Adams will play though, right so that you know
you're like you said, Casey, they got stars all over
this are awesome too, I mean, and for whatever reason,
the other three and seven.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
I mean, you have a I mean part of it.
You look at it. Anytime you change head coaches mid season,
rarely does it turn out a positive in that year.
So you knew there was going to be some ups
and downs. And you know, I think part of it
too was you take your defensive coordinator and you don't
eliminate any of those roles and you say, hey, do
(14:09):
this and be the head coach.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Saints went to Darren Rizzy their special teams courtA right. Yeah,
like the Raiders when they made the playoffs with Rich.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
So like those are the kinds of things that typically happen.
So I mean, I'm not at all trying to, you know,
give them a benefit of the doubt, but that is
kind of what they're dealing with. But I mean, you
mentioned it, the amount of playmakers they have on that team.
I'm sure there's a lot of Like fantasy football, You've
got a lot of Jets players out there. It's not
one of those teams that you can find any of
them on the waiver wire, but it's just they haven't
(14:39):
been able to kind of put it all together. DeVante
Adams is you know, he still knew he's still trying
to figure out where he fits him and him and
Rodgers have that connection, but it just hasn't all worked
out yet. I mean Aaron Rodgers. He's also just not
throwing the ball down the field. Like I don't want
to say this, but it looks like age has finally
at least caught up to him. I'm not saying it's
taken him yet, but the age caught it.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
And here's here's the last point I have. Casey is like,
when you look at it, you look at the stats,
you look at the film, and you're like, yeah, they
look like a three and seven team, But in the
back of your mind, you're like, that's still a Hall
of Fame quarterback. That's still a Hall of Fame wide receiver.
Garrett Wilson's one of the best young wide receivers in
the NFL. Breese Hall is one of the best young
running backs in the NFL. Quinn Williams is a game
wrecker at defensive tackle. Sauceguard is one of the best
(15:22):
young cornerbacks in the NFL. You go down this roster,
you're like, oh my gosh, there are stars all over
this team, and what happens if they put it all together.
It's like my golf game. Boy, if I put it
all there, if I put it all together, I'm gonna
I'm gonna break eighty, and one of these days I
will and one. And you always have to go into
every round believing you will. Oh, you're gonna put it
(15:43):
all together and you're gonna break eighty. This is the week.
If you're facing the Jets, you gotta believe this is
the week. They're gonna They're gonna they're they're gonna hit
all their fairways, they're ball striking off the fairways, gonna
be great, their approaches are gonna be awesome, and they're
gonna break eighty.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
You know, I'm really glad you brought that up because
I asked golf, No, not golf, but what you're mentioning
with all the players, because I literally asked Bill Brooks this.
I said, is this one of those games where you
almost don't even look at the roster. You just say,
we're playing a three and seven Jets team, and we
have to go out and give them our best because
they're a team who they just had an embarrassing loss,
(16:16):
so they're gonna come right into play. Yeah, like you
have to go out. You don't look at the at
the players on the team because it'll go, oh, they've
got him. Oh, and they've got him, because that's what
they're that's what their roster is. It is full of playmakers.
You just have to attack this team as a three
and seven Jets team. You got to get up on
them early and you got to just put them away, right.
And that's that's kind of the way I look at
this team, Like, if the Colts want to win this game,
(16:37):
you get up, you get up on them early. You
you literally can pound the football with Jonathan Taylor in
area where they struggle, and that's how you're gonna win
this game.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Yeah, but I also think you need to acknowledge you
got to look at those catches Garrett Wilson made against
the Texans. You got to look at Aaron Rodgers making
you know, ridiculous throws when you have a pre snap
penalty and all those things. You know it, this is
still gonna be a challenge, and uh, it's gonna be
one though that if the Colts win it, you know
you're you're starting to think, okay, like right, this team
does have the potential to make a push for one
(17:07):
of those AFC wild card spots, if not the division,
if the Texans continue to slide.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Well, I mean, you can look at the remaining schedule
and the Colts are the second easiest schedule the rest
of the way, and you look at the toughest opponent
on that and it's an NFC team. The best way
to make it to the playoffs is to win the
AFC game.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
This is so important.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
So there's a handful of chances for the Colts down
the stretch to get AFC wins to continue to booster
that chance in the wild card, and it all starts
on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
All right, Well, Bill Brooks and I are going to
have our breakdown of Colts and Jets on Instant Reaction
that'll be out Sunday night on your podcast feeds and
on YouTube. This is going to do it for this
episode of The Two Minute Drill presented by nerd Wallet,
Play Smart Finance, Harder four Case of Value. Thanks for
stepping in out of the bullpen body anytime. I appreciate it,
and I'm JJ Stankowitz. We'll talk to you next week
(17:52):
here on the Two Minute Drill podcast on the Colts
Audio Network. So long,
What's up? Everyone? Welcome into another episode of the Two
Minute Drill podcast, presented by Nerd Wallet Play Smart Finance
harder JJ Stankovitz, joined this week by Casey Valier.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Casey welcome, great to see you, JJ, Thanks for finally
letting me slip into this.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
You're tagging in from my colleague Amanda Foster, who is
talking to a player right now. So we're gonna We're
gonna let Amanda do her writing job and get a
nice story out next week while we talk about some
updates on the Colts ahead of the week eleven matchup
against the New York Jets. It's a big game play,
I mean assive, they're all big from here on out,
but now with Anthony Richardson coming back, it doesn't get
(00:36):
much bigger than this, with the Colts trying to claw
their way back into the AFC playoff picture. Let's start.
We usually go injury updates to start here. So Bernard
Ryman out for Sunday's game. He is a knee injury,
Shanestike and did tell us on Friday he thinks it's
probably week to week. It's not maybe serious enough that
you know he's going to miss an extended period of time,
but it does mean that Mackenzalvez will start at left tackle.
(00:59):
The Cults will once again have three rookies starting on
their offensive line. Case, what have you seen that to Mackinsalvez?
What have you heard about Mackenzalvez over the last couple
of weeks that gives you some confidence he can step
in there and do a good job against a really
good New York Jets front. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
I mean, ultimately, I think we've all been pleasantly surprised
at how quickly he has been able to acclimate to
left tackle because you know, if you look at the
offensive line, that's probably the hardest position to play in
the entire league, at left tackle outside of the quarterback
and maybe a couple other positions. But that's when you're
gonna definitely keep an eye on, and I think for
the most part, Gonzalvez has really stepped in and played
(01:33):
very very well. We did see you know that, you
know that you had the is it the game against
Houston there towards the end? Was it? I think it
was Houston or yeah we're burning went out, Yeah, we're
burning out. So there's been some up and downs, but
ultimately I mean one of the things that I took
a lot was listening to Quentin Nelson this week talk
about it and not only has he stepped in really
really well, think about what he's trying to juggle on
(01:54):
a week to week basis, taking snaps here and there
in practice, playing four positions. Yeah, it's been. It's one
of those things to kind of you know, this week
he got a majority of those snaps all at left tackle,
so he knew he was a part of the game plan.
He knew where he was going to be. So I
think all of that's going to play into it. But ultimately,
I think he has really held up really really well.
(02:16):
And you can kind of say the same for all
of the rookies that have stepped in. I mean, you know,
when it comes to Dalton, Tucker and Tanner BORDERLINI they've
all played very well, and typically you don't really get
that type of production out of rookies, right, that's one
of those offensive linemen at rookie. It's a trying year
as a rookie, and I feel like, you know, knock
on wood, this trio has played very very well in
(02:37):
the rookie year.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Yeah, I totally agree. Case I think the you know,
you've seen just like stable play out of Gonzalvez and Tucker,
Like you know, those guys have other moments like Gonzoalves
got beat by Greg Russo last week that led to
the strip sack, and you know, Greg Ruso is a
good player. But you're you're gonna get some some of
those moments. But it hasn't been like you haven't noticed
it like Mac Consolvez. I think has just been like
(02:59):
baseline solid. Same with Dalton Tucker. I think you're getting
like good play out at Tanner Bordolini, Yeah, et cetera.
Just straight up good play there. So that's also really encouraging.
But more than anything, I think it just speaks to
like Tony Spranno Junior and the culture that he has
and the standard he sets in that room. That this
is an offensive line that still is playing really good
football with three rookies starting. That is hard to do.
(03:19):
And it speaks to what Tony Spranno Junior's got there
with Chris Watt's doing in there, Quentin Nelson, Braden Smith,
Ryan Kelly though, all those guys setting the standard. There
one other thing to talk about, injury wise, Casey Michael
Pittman Junior's back. Yes, he was a full participant Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
This week, Shane Steichen told us he's good to go.
(03:39):
So one week with Pittman being out with that back
injury hopefully leads to him being more involved in this
offense going forward.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yeah, I mean, that's that's always the hope, especially when
you look at the numbers. They're just not pit like
if you will. But I mean, I've had back injuries
and I don't play at this level. But you know,
I'm not the same person with a back injury, so
it's understandable.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yeah, I was grinding through a b I can'dre I
want to play pickleball last week. It's totally different when
he got a guy hitting you exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
But I mean, Michael Pittman, he's one of those guys
where you know he's gonna go out, he's gonna be
as as Shane talked about, not only just at the position,
he's one of the you know, one of the toughest
players he's ever seen play in the NFL. So I'm
I'm not at all surprised that it's just a one
week absence because you could kind of see pitt last
week was probably not excited about missing, so I'm not
(04:25):
shocked that he's getting back out there. And maybe it
was one of those things where he took a week
to kind of say, all right, here's how I can
be best used inside the offense. And maybe he's gonna
have limitations with the back, but ultimately he can find
ways to you know, be more beneficial inside the offense.
So I think with pitt coming back, it's gonna be
(04:45):
one of those you know, with Reggie Wayne and with
you know, Jim Bob Kuter and Shane Stike and all
finding ways to get him involved because ultimately, when Michael
Pittman is involved, this offense is just better it is.
So it's one of those things with him coming back,
I think you're going to see kind of earlier they're
gonna get him involved in plays just to kind of
get him going. And I mean, I mean you may see,
(05:07):
you know, snap counts be a little bit lower, especially
after what you saw last week out of Adam I Mitchell,
So it may be kind of a good way to
kind of ease him back in and you can kind
of see what happens after this week how that back
holds up.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Yeah, I mean the Colts absolutely need Michael Pittman Junior
to be more productive. And I think it's pretty easy
to look at what he's done this year and say
he has not been one hundred percent because the Michael
Pittman Junior that he has proven to be over the
last three years is one of the more productive receivers
in the NFL. So getting him back to that level.
While you do have maybe more options to throw the
ball to this year, Josh Downs looks really good out,
(05:40):
Pierce's care really coming on. You've got obviously Adie Mitchell
coming off a career game against Buffalo, Like, You've got
guys who can throw the ball to. Whereas maybe in
years past Pitt's kind of been target one to one
and two. This year, I think, you know, it's a
little bit more spread out. But yeah, you absolutely need
to get Pittman more involved in the offense. Right. The
guy involving Michael Pittman Junior in that offense this week
(06:00):
case he will be Anthony Richardson. And before we kind
of put a bow on this week, I just want
to go take us into the locker room this week
because the conversations I had with guys in there I
thought were really interesting where they all said we never
lost faith in Anthony Richardson. We always believed he was
going to come back and he was going to earn
his job back. And that's what we saw, you know,
(06:21):
over the last two weeks is the stuff Anthony Richardson
did behind the scenes. You know, everything we heard is
that he was showing up early, and he was getting
his work in and he was really dedicated himself to
like kind of being consistent and to sacrificing a lot.
Those are the words he used quite a bit. But
around that locker room, I think there there's a renewed
(06:42):
appreciation for how difficult it is to be an NFL
starting quarterback at the age of twenty two. I kind
of heard that from a couple of players this week
that I thought was really interesting, where you know, leaders
on this team, Kenny Moore, the second to Forrest Buckner,
Zaire Franklin all kind of talking about like, you know,
we've kind of had to look inward for ourselves and
(07:04):
give him a little bit of grace and figure out
how to best support him through this. And I think
coming out on the other side of all that case,
he has been a lot of positivity and that this
team feels very confident now that Richardson's coming back that
he can be the guy to take them where they
want to go this season, which is making a push
for the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
It's always one of those things when you hear that,
you know, we never lose faith and all that, you
never really know how much you can take of that.
You know, their statements that you know from a franchise
you have to make. But I would agree completely with
you is I think everybody actually believes that when they
said it here, and you're seeing that in the locker room,
because when you talk about guys like the Forest Buckner, Zaire, Franklin,
(07:45):
Kinney Moore, not only have they seen all ends of
the spectrum, they know when a guy is out there
faking it, if you will. And I don't think any
of them thought that it was. Hey, you know what,
this position that he is being put in is incredibly difficult.
It's the hardest position in all of sports to play
at the quarterback position. So let's find a way to
(08:07):
get everybody working on the same page and help him along.
And I think that's all to me, Like you look
at the comments that Kenny Moore made post game last week.
I don't think it was geared towards any one player.
I think it was literally, hey, everybody, let's look at
Let's take a look in the mirror, because we all
have to do this. And it was one of those
things where it's kind of that, you know, light bulb
(08:28):
blinking if you will, that everybody has to kind of
take that step and say, not only is it you
know Anthony needs to do this to continue to improve
at the quarterback spot, but we all have to do
our best to help him get there because you know,
I've been twenty two and I know that if you
gave me the keys to this, there would be no
idea where I would go. So hearing, and I mean,
(08:49):
I thought Jonathan Taylor mentioned it really well this week
when he said there's a lot of things that I
do and we do as running backs that nobody knows
he goes, but when it comes to quarterback, I can't
even begin to a mat and all that goes into it.
So there is just so much that goes into being
a quarterback. And that is not just what you see
in the class or you know in the classroom at
practice and in the games. There's so much more. And
(09:11):
I thought you you talk about, you know, the sacrifice
that Anthony was talking about. I think all of that
is really starting to resonate with him, and it can
only be a good thing. It's ultimately, you're a little
you're a little nervous or worried when you do something
like this because you don't know how it's going to
affect somebody. But I think for Anthony he has really
taken in in stride, and so is this whole leadership
(09:33):
that we have here with the culture, they've really helped
him along.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, I totally agree with that. That like seeing just
like seeing Anthony high fiving guys coming off the field
in Minnesota. It's like, Okay, he didn't go in the tank.
That's something Josh Downs told me this week, Like, you know,
Anthony could have gone in the tank and he could
have said I'm not messing around with these guys anymore.
But he he took it in stride. It was, you know,
a difficult time for him, certainly, but he I think
(09:57):
he used it, as Michael Pittman Junior said this, he
uses his way call right, And I think you know
what that looks like on Sunday doesn't necessarily mean we
should expect Anthony Richardson to come out and go twenty
seven to thirty five for three hundred and fifty yards.
But I do think it means like this is the
arrow is pointing back up. Yeah, and the ship is
going in the right direction. Whatever metaphor you want to use,
(10:19):
we are we're back on track here, And I think
that is that is something. Now over these last seven games,
you want to see that development trend up.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Now.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
You want to see that commitment to all those little things.
You want to see the sacrifices. You want to see
that starting to lead to the arrow pointing up for
Anthony Richardson, because if it does, this team could make
a run for the playoffs. Absolutely they can, but it's
got to be driven by Anthony Richardson playing better football
than he played before he got benched.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah, I mean, you talk about this team, I mean,
there's a reason they brought all these guys back. There's
a reason that this team won nine games last year
with Anthony on the sideline for a majority, I mean,
for essentially the entire season. So the talent is there.
This team is to win. Now you just have to
be able to put all the pieces together and ultimately,
you know, no, you don't want to look too far ahead,
but you really got to know what you have in
(11:08):
Anthony for this team. So I think it is very,
very important over this last stretch to really get a
lot of and I'm anxious to see how the offense
looks different, you know, because this was also for the
coaching staff a moment to kind of take a step
back and say, not only do we have to help
him on the field, we've got to do a better
job of putting him in the best positions to succeed.
(11:29):
So I'm anxious to kind of see what Shane Steiken
dials up offensively, him and Jim Bob Cooter and everybody
that's involved this Sunday offensively against the Jets.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
And by the way, the difference in having Anthony Richardson
back there versus Joe Flacco for the Colts run game
is significant. And here's something I pulled up for a
game preview on Colts dot Com. Casey. The Jets enter
week eleven twenty fourth in the NFL and explosive run
rate allowed, so opponents are gaining ten of Moore yards
on fourteen point three percent of their rushing attempts. That's
pretty high, yeah, around the NFL. In the six games
(11:59):
Anthony Richardson has started, the Colts have an explosive run
rate of twenty point eight percent. That would be the
best in the NFL over the course of a full season.
In the games Joe Flacco started, they're at eleven point
six percent. That would be good for twenty second Okay,
So that is you're talking about nearly doubling your rate
of getting ten yards when you hand the ball off
or have the quarterback take it with Anthony Richardson back
(12:22):
there versus Joe Flacco. And that's significant against the defense.
By the way, Casey, that is allowing those that are
rather rather high rate.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
And that's part of when I look at this this
opponent this week, you want to know, Okay, where is
their weakness because you can rattle off all the names
on this Jets team. Yeah, they're three and seven, but
they've got names to jump off the page. I mean
offensively and defensively, but the area that you can really
attack them is against the run. When I talk to
Connor Hughes, who covers a team for s and why
(12:50):
that's one of the things he said. He goes, this
team has a whole bunch of guys to get pin
their ears back and go get the quarterback, but you
try to get him to stop the run, and they
just don't know how to do it. You've got Quinn
Williams and that's about it. So you look at this
team and it's really it sets up for you know,
that run dynamic that you've seen with Taylor and Richardson
in the backfield. It sets up for a very positive
(13:12):
outlook for the Colts offense for sure.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
And the New York Jets highest graded run defender this
year is linebacker CJ. Moseley, who will not play Sunday.
There you go, Altoetrie, that's one of those I just
looked that up in the last thirty seconds and if
you saw my eyebrows goo, that's a fact right there. Ok.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Pro Football Focus has him as their highest graded run defender.
The Jets will also be without left tackle Tyron Smith. Yes,
Deavante Adams will play though, right so that you know
you're like you said, Casey, they got stars all over
this are awesome too, I mean, and for whatever reason,
the other three and seven.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
I mean, you have a I mean part of it.
You look at it. Anytime you change head coaches mid season,
rarely does it turn out a positive in that year.
So you knew there was going to be some ups
and downs. And you know, I think part of it
too was you take your defensive coordinator and you don't
eliminate any of those roles and you say, hey, do
(14:09):
this and be the head coach.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Saints went to Darren Rizzy their special teams courtA right. Yeah,
like the Raiders when they made the playoffs with Rich.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
So like those are the kinds of things that typically happen.
So I mean, I'm not at all trying to, you know,
give them a benefit of the doubt, but that is
kind of what they're dealing with. But I mean, you
mentioned it, the amount of playmakers they have on that team.
I'm sure there's a lot of Like fantasy football, You've
got a lot of Jets players out there. It's not
one of those teams that you can find any of
them on the waiver wire, but it's just they haven't
(14:39):
been able to kind of put it all together. DeVante
Adams is you know, he still knew he's still trying
to figure out where he fits him and him and
Rodgers have that connection, but it just hasn't all worked
out yet. I mean Aaron Rodgers. He's also just not
throwing the ball down the field. Like I don't want
to say this, but it looks like age has finally
at least caught up to him. I'm not saying it's
taken him yet, but the age caught it.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
And here's here's the last point I have. Casey is like,
when you look at it, you look at the stats,
you look at the film, and you're like, yeah, they
look like a three and seven team, But in the
back of your mind, you're like, that's still a Hall
of Fame quarterback. That's still a Hall of Fame wide receiver.
Garrett Wilson's one of the best young wide receivers in
the NFL. Breese Hall is one of the best young
running backs in the NFL. Quinn Williams is a game
wrecker at defensive tackle. Sauceguard is one of the best
(15:22):
young cornerbacks in the NFL. You go down this roster,
you're like, oh my gosh, there are stars all over
this team, and what happens if they put it all together.
It's like my golf game. Boy, if I put it
all there, if I put it all together, I'm gonna
I'm gonna break eighty, and one of these days I
will and one. And you always have to go into
every round believing you will. Oh, you're gonna put it
(15:43):
all together and you're gonna break eighty. This is the week.
If you're facing the Jets, you gotta believe this is
the week. They're gonna They're gonna they're they're gonna hit
all their fairways, they're ball striking off the fairways, gonna
be great, their approaches are gonna be awesome, and they're
gonna break eighty.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
You know, I'm really glad you brought that up because
I asked golf, No, not golf, but what you're mentioning
with all the players, because I literally asked Bill Brooks this.
I said, is this one of those games where you
almost don't even look at the roster. You just say,
we're playing a three and seven Jets team, and we
have to go out and give them our best because
they're a team who they just had an embarrassing loss,
(16:16):
so they're gonna come right into play. Yeah, like you
have to go out. You don't look at the at
the players on the team because it'll go, oh, they've
got him. Oh, and they've got him, because that's what
they're that's what their roster is. It is full of playmakers.
You just have to attack this team as a three
and seven Jets team. You got to get up on
them early and you got to just put them away, right.
And that's that's kind of the way I look at
this team, Like, if the Colts want to win this game,
(16:37):
you get up, you get up on them early. You
you literally can pound the football with Jonathan Taylor in
area where they struggle, and that's how you're gonna win
this game.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Yeah, but I also think you need to acknowledge you
got to look at those catches Garrett Wilson made against
the Texans. You got to look at Aaron Rodgers making
you know, ridiculous throws when you have a pre snap
penalty and all those things. You know it, this is
still gonna be a challenge, and uh, it's gonna be
one though that if the Colts win it, you know
you're you're starting to think, okay, like right, this team
does have the potential to make a push for one
(17:07):
of those AFC wild card spots, if not the division,
if the Texans continue to slide.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Well, I mean, you can look at the remaining schedule
and the Colts are the second easiest schedule the rest
of the way, and you look at the toughest opponent
on that and it's an NFC team. The best way
to make it to the playoffs is to win the
AFC game.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
This is so important.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
So there's a handful of chances for the Colts down
the stretch to get AFC wins to continue to booster
that chance in the wild card, and it all starts
on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
All right, Well, Bill Brooks and I are going to
have our breakdown of Colts and Jets on Instant Reaction
that'll be out Sunday night on your podcast feeds and
on YouTube. This is going to do it for this
episode of The Two Minute Drill presented by nerd Wallet,
Play Smart Finance, Harder four Case of Value. Thanks for
stepping in out of the bullpen body anytime. I appreciate it,
and I'm JJ Stankowitz. We'll talk to you next week
(17:52):
here on the Two Minute Drill podcast on the Colts
Audio Network. So long,
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